Curiosity and Protection
by NamiMakimono
Summary: Kakashi comes across a lost kunoichi in the forests outside of Konoha. What could she be doing there? Is she a threat? And who is this 'Baka' circled on the map she's hunting for? OC x Kakashi (kinda)
1. Chapter 1

***grins***

**I found this on my computer and finally got this thing finished!**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

Akari sighed sadly as she looked around only to sigh in defeat, "It's no use. I've never been good at finding my way out of forests."

"Does that mean you need some help?" came a voice from behind her. She stiffened and slowly turned around making her long dark brown hair go slightly in her face as her red-orange eyes landed on a man with silver hair and only his right eye visible. She watched him carefully as he laughed sheepishly, "I'm Hatake Kakashi." Akari just looked back at her map with a place called Konoha circled on it and the word 'Baka' written quickly beside it. "I take it you're heading to Konoha," he said and she nodded. "I'm on my way there back from a mission, I'll show you." She thought for a few minutes then shrugged and pulled her bag back on her shoulder and followed quietly behind him. After several minutes of silence, Kakashi glanced over and watched the new girl, "So where are you from?"

Akari's sunset eyes locked with his one eye then looked straight ahead, "I don't see what any business it is of yours." He narrowed his eye as he studied her. Her long dark brown hair hung down almost to her waist. She wore a black lace-up top that had the left sleeve come to her elbow while the right side had no sleeve and stopped at her ribs. It was just low enough to show she was well endowed with a pair of matching shorts that hung low on her lithe frame. Her skin was a little pale but not too much which brought out her unique fiery orange eyes.

"It is my business if you're coming to Konoha," he said this as he tapped his headband.

She glanced over at him then away, "I don't have a home if you need to know. I'm looking for someone." Kakashi was about to ask but noticed the shield she had placed up and sighed as an uncomfortable silence fell over the two as they finally came in view of the gates.

Kakashi looked at the girl again, "The village is big, but I'm sure you'll find who you're looking for." He paused, "Exactly, who are you looking for?" But she didn't hear him as she quickened her pace at the sight of a small group of teenagers walking down the street. Kakashi sped to keep up with her but blinked as she sprinted away quickly, leaving him behind as he tried to catch up.

The group turned in confusion to see two people running towards them. Kiba leant over, "Hey Naruto, wonder who Kakashi's running after?"

At the same time that he turned with a confused look on his face, Akari launched herself at him, dropping her bag in the process, "Naruto!"

Within the next second, they were on the ground with this strange girl hugging the confused 15 year old blonde until he looked up as sky blue eyes met burning sunset, "Akari?!" Kakashi came walking up and watched as the others did with big eyes. Here was this beautiful girl that literally threw herself at the blonde idiot. Naruto stood up and spun her around as she began to cry. She was an inch taller than him. Kakashi walked closer and listened as they spoke. "What are you doing here Akari?"

She pulled back then cried more, hugging him tightly, "They're gone."

The blonde froze then hugged her more, "What happened? Wait! It shouldn't have taken you this long to get here. Don't tell me you got lost in the woods again."

She laughed sheepishly and looked away as Kakashi decided to add his two cents, "I found her in the forest surrounding Konoha talking to herself."

Akari glared as Naruto laughed and hit him in the back of the head. "Hey! That's not nice," he pouted. She shook her head smiling, then looked at the Hokage tower. Naruto caught on and grabbed her bag and hand, pulling her quickly behind him. Kakashi sighed and followed after them to make sure they didn't cause any trouble.

"Obaa-chan open up!" Naruto pounded on the door loudly.

The door swung open, revealing an angry looking blonde behind the desk and a raven haired teen she had been talking to, "What is it gaki? Can't you see I'm busy?"

She looked rather ticked as the raven stood there smirking. Naruto growled, "Sasuke-teme doesn't matter right now!"

"Why you…" Tsunade began to stand up only to be tackled as a blur came from behind the blonde. Several ANBU appeared out of nowhere as the Hokage looked down in shock, "Akari?" She quickly waved the ANBU away and stood back up with the crying girl attached to her waist like a little kid would. Sasuke blinked a few times as Kakashi appeared beside him while Naruto smiled sadly as the crying girl broke down. Tsunade helped her stand up and looked over the still crying girl, "What happened?"

"They're gone Ts-Tsunade," she cried out and hugged the woman tighter.

The blonde woman blinked, "What happened to them Akari?"

The girl managed to compose herself and got her bag, searching through it quickly and pulled out a piece of fabric. The others watched with narrowed eyes as she held out the black fabric with half of a red cloud on it. "They came in the night when everyone was asleep. Our night watch were taken out first, then several others that woke up from the noise," she looked at Naruto as he came closer.

"How many were there?" he asked quietly.

She looked around at everyone else and gasped as she locked eyes with the raven, almost fainting in the process but Tsunade and Naruto caught her before she could fall over. Shaking, she took out something small from her pocket and had a death grip on it. She looked back to Naruto, "Five. Me and father tried to get everyone to safety but one of them caught him before I could save him." She clenched her fists tighter, drawing blood in the process, "One of them came after me. I don't even know how I lived through it," she pulled the collar of her top down enough to show a two inch scar where her heart is.

"What's in your hand Akari?" Tsunade asked sternly. The girl flinched and held up her shaking hand, showing a small red ring.

Sasuke growled, "How did you kill him?" Akari jumped and hid behind Naruto as the raven got closer, "How!?"

"Sasuke," Tsunade warned as Kakashi held him back.

"B-brother got in front of me so I only got stabbed with the end of the blade. But he-he," she began to break down again as Naruto rubbed her back, "I got brother's sword and…" she couldn't say anymore but simply brought her bleeding hand up and with her pointer finger, drug it across her throat unknowingly leaving a trail of blood from her hand in it's wake. Tsunade blinked as Naruto quickly cleaned the mark off her neck. Akari had stopped crying but she hadn't stopped shaking. "I'm alone," she whispered into the quiet room.

The blondes blinked then both hit her in the head making her yelp and jump away closer to Kakashi. Her red-orange eyes darted around and landed on the Uchiha again. He was glaring at her as she shrunk back, "You couldn't have killed Itachi, you're younger than us."

Naruto began to snicker as Tsunade tried not to laugh, "Teme she's tw-"

"What the hell do you mean 'younger than you'!?" Akari glared and walked up to the raven, who had finally noticed that she was taller than him, "The hell I'm younger than you!" Kakashi tried not to smile as the raven began to back up as Akari walked closer to him and hardened her glare, "I may look young but I'm not." She looked over to Tsunade and whined, "Why does everyone think I'm so young?"

"Well, you do still look young Akari," she grinned making the girl groan and slump over as she stood beside Naruto who snickered.

"No one's ever going to believe me," she groaned and went hunting in her bag.

Tsunade smiled, "Well, you've grown since the last time I'd seen you. But how old are you now?"

She had a hold of something in her bag and sighed, "What's the point? No one's going to believe it."

"I still remember," Naruto beamed. They all turned to look at the blonde as he looked around, "What?"

Akari smiled as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and carefully pulled out something wrapped up in cloth, "Thanks Naruto." She looked to Tsunade, "I want to join Konoha."


	2. Chapter 2

The blonde woman smiled, "Good. But you'll have to start up your training from where you left off back home."

"That's just it Tsunade. I don't have anymore training," she grinned.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked eyeing her suspiciously.

"Think about how old I am and where I lived Naruto. Do you honestly think I'm still in any kind of basic training?" Akari ruffled his hair and stood up straight with a determined look on her face, "Is there somewhere I can go change?"

Tsunade just pointed out the door to the one next to her room. Akari nodded and walked out, shutting the door behind her. Sasuke was still in shock as Kakashi looked at the two blondes, "Who is she? When I found her, she was glaring at a map with Konoha circled and the word 'Baka' wrote beside it." Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, making the others realize that he was the 'Baka' she was looking for.

"Akari is the daughter of one of my friends. I've been like a second mother to her," Tsunade smiled then sighed sadly, "She's very smart but has her dumb moments."

Naruto nodded, "I met her when me and Ero-sannin were training. And she is older than us Teme."

The raven just looked away and glared out the window as Tsunade remembered something, "How old is she Naruto? I can't remember." He snickered and was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. "Enter." An ANBU wearing a cat mask with purple swirls walked in and stood in front of Tsunade, her ANBU tattoo visible on her left arm. "I didn't call for you," the woman said confused. Everyone watched the ANBU as the place where the eyes were on the mask began to glow an evil fiery orange colour.

"A-Akari?" Naruto gaped as she slid the mask to reveal only the right side of her face as the other was still hidden. A cold and calculated look showed as she studied them quietly. Any humor was gone and the look of years of killing was in its place as she stood quietly.

Kakashi and Tsunade knew that look and blinked as the woman looked sad, "Akari, you have grown up haven't you? When did you reach ANBU?"

"When I was 12," she said with an emotionless voice that chilled the room. Naruto looked at the others surprised. To reach ANBU at 12 was unheard of in Konoha.

The blonde woman sighed, "And when did you get like this."

Said girl didn't give away anything in her features, "Three months after."

"Was it because of a mission?" Naruto looked down sadly as she briefly glanced at him then nodded slightly.

"And how old are you now," Tsunade asked as the girl never moved from her spot.

Akari glanced over to the raven as he began to move, "Don't come near me Uchiha." He stopped in his tracks as a kunai whizzed by his head, cutting a few strands of hair. "Even if you're not like your brother, you get too close and the next one won't miss." No one had seen her move. "I'm 25," her voice was even, her face void of all emotion. The perfect image of an elite ranked ANBU.

"Akari," Naruto grinned and held out a small present, "Happy birthday."

She watched him and carefully took her mask off, her cold calculated personality leaving with it. "Thanks Naruto," she smiled and opened the box to find a small teardrop shaped trinket. She hugged him and pulled a bracelet out of her bag and attached it with all the other different shaped charms on it.

Tsunade smiled and shook her head, "Akari, while you're here I don't want you to put that mask back on." Said girl blinked in confusion as the older woman looked serious, "I understand how everything works, but I don't want you to have that look. So unless we desperately need you, you are not to assume your ANBU title."

Naruto nodded as he hugged Akari quickly, catching her off guard, "That wasn't you Akari, this is."

Tsunade smiled then looked to Kakashi, "She's going to be with Team 7 for a while. Just don't forget Kakashi," the woman grinned as Naruto and Akari smiled at the news, "She could most likely out class you." She looked to Akari, "If you spar with them, go easy."

Akari blinked then nodded. "Oh," she thought quickly, "is there any place I could stay?"

Tsunade thought for a few minutes, dismissing Naruto's offer saying his place wasn't big enough for two people. She pulled out a book and went through a few pages then grinned that made them all uneasy, "Kakashi," said man began to pale slightly, his favourite book long forgotten in his pocket, "There seems to be an empty apartment next to yours. Why don't you show her where it is? Then I want Akari to get to know the rest of your team."

They nodded and began to leave when Tsunade called after them, "I need the scrolls of all your missions Akari."

She pulled out a small scroll and walked back to Tsunade's desk, unrolled it and bit her thumb, placing it in the center of the paper. There was a large poof of smoke and on her desk stood three stacks of folders, each one four feet high. "Last I counted there should be 649 missions accounted for."

Tsunade groaned, "Why is there always large amounts of paperwork?"

"Just be glad I prepared for all of this. The only thing you have to do is stamp them Tsunade," Akari grinned as the blonde woman sighed gratefully and followed Naruto and Kakashi, Sasuke had left without a word or glance back as he took off in one direction.

After a few minutes of keeping Akari and Naruto in check, Kakashi sighed as they stood in front of the door that would lead to Akari's new home, "Meet at the training grounds in three hours." With that he walked to his door and disappeared inside.

"So," Akari began as they looked around her empty home, "Wanna help me buy some things?"

The blonde grinned, "Only if I can get some ramen later."

She shook her head and smiled, "Yeah, yeah. Come show me around so I don't get lost again." Naruto laughed at that and got a quick smack in the back of the head in the process.


	3. Chapter 3

After going to every store they could find, Akari and Naruto came back to her house with several armloads of bags. She quickly went to put all her clothes up while Naruto put away all of the groceries and dishes. Soon the apartment seemed more at home for Akari. She sighed happily and grabbed something as they left for the training grounds.

Naruto was busy training, throwing kunai at the training dummy while Akari sat on a middle branch of a tree. A soft melody floated through the air as he trained harder, the flute playing helped him concentrate better. The wind blew gently as Akari continued to play; her eyes closed and enjoyed the scent of spring in the air. After ten more minutes, Sasuke and Sakura came to where Naruto was still training. They blinked as they watched, neither one of them had seen him this serious outside of missions. The flute's notes softly died in the wind and Naruto stopped, panting and almost fell over.

Akari grinned, "Good Naruto, you've gotten better." He grinned tiredly as she put her flute up, "Next time, when the tempo goes slower, try thinking of water or a slow breeze. Relax your muscles and just go with it, then when it gets faster," she smirked at him as he began to grin at the idea, "let loose and beat the living hell out of it."

He nodded with a smirk, "Wakatta, Akari nee-chan."

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at eachother with raised eyebrows then looked back in time to see Kakashi appeared behind Akari, which made her jump slightly. She lost her balance and yelped as she slid off the branch and began to fall headfirst to the ground. Before she could right herself, a pair of strong arms caught her gently. She glanced up with wide eyes as she noticed exactly how close she was to Kakashi, "You need to be more careful."

She squeaked and disappeared only to reappear quickly behind Naruto, who looked around in confusion until he notice how red her face was and grinned then whispered quietly, "Akari, why are you blushing? You don't happen to like Kakashi-sensei do you?"

Her eye began to twitch as she locked eyes with the blonde, "I'm going to hurt you later for even thinking that." He gulped as she buried her face in his back trying to get the red gone from her cheeks.

The silver haired nin blinked as he watched Akari's face light up bright red as Naruto whispered to her. "Alright guys," he said walking up to them, "This is Akari, she's going to be training with us for a while. Naruto and Sasuke have already met her but you haven't Sakura, so why don't you introduce yourself."

The pink haired girl smiled, "I'm Haruno Sakura."

Akari stood back upright and walked forward with a grin, "Akari."

Kakashi walked over to them and smiled, "Well now that that is out of the way, why don't you spar with someone Akari?"

She stood still for a minute then shook her head, "I don't want to." She was back into her original outfit with her hair down. The jounin sighed and pointed to the middle of the training grounds, making her pout but reluctantly walk out there.

"Who is she going to spar with?" Naruto asked as he looked back to Akari and tried not to laugh as he noticed her looking up at the clouds and slowly turning in circles only to stop from being dizzy.

"Me," he said as he put his book up.

Sakura's eyes grew big as Kakashi walked over to Akari, "But she's not that strong, is she?"

Naruto laughed, "Sakura, she's 25 and an ANBU. I think Kakashi should be more worried about what she can do."

The pink haired girl blinked and looked back out to the field to blink as Akari seemed to be in her own little world moving to a song in her head as she dodged all of Kakashi's attacks.

Sasuke and Naruto watched as she caught a kunai and grinned, "A weapon."

The blonde groaned, "I know that look."

"What do you mean dobe?" the raven asked as he kept his Sharingan eyes on the battle.

Naruto watched also, "She never uses weapons but if she gets a hold of one…she goes a little…I guess _trigger happy_ would be the right word."

Akari lunged after Kakashi, cutting the top of his mask and his cheek. They landed several feet apart when he pulled up his headband revealing his Sharingan eye. Akari narrowed her eyes as they began to glow. He tried to follow her movements but was suddenly kicked from behind and knocked off balance and landed hard on the ground, panting only to groan as she landed on his lower stomach with her legs pinning his arms to his sides. She held the kunai to his throat and stared down at him. The three watching stared with their mouths open as she kept the kunai firm.

Kakashi gulped as Akari moved a little, accidentally moving her hips on his. She blinked as his eyes grew wide and his breathing became a little heavier. Then she noticed something she shouldn't have. Before anyone could blink, Kakashi was gone and Akari was left sitting on the ground with a red face and big eyes.

The others came walking up carefully as she sat there staring down at the ground. "Are you okay Akari?" Naruto asked as they got to her. She looked up, her bright red face making them blink as she tried to say something but nothing came out but a small squeak.

"Akari, what happened? Where did Kakashi-sensei go?" Sakura asked as Akari stood up. Said girl's face grew deeper and she quickly looked at the three who were watching quietly.

Naruto grinned as it clicked in his head. He walked over to Akari and whispered in her ear softly. She quickly pulled away and glared at him with her face growing redder than ever. Akari tossed him an evil look and quickly ran back to the safety of her house, leaving behind two confused teens and one laughing uncontrollably. "What happened Naruto?" Sakura asked.

He grinned, "I can't tell you guys, she might kill me, but lets just say that our training is going to be very interesting from now on." With that, he left the two to guess at what happened but without any luck.


	4. Chapter 4

Akari sat on her bed staring down at the kunai lying in front of her. She had been home for several hours now and had been contemplating on how to give it back to Kakashi as quickly as possible. She fell back on the bed and groaned, "Why me?" She grabbed it and walked into the living room, tossing the kunai on the table and walking over to her bookshelf and ran her finger across the books with her eyes closed until it stopped on one and opened them to smile. Grabbing a drink and a snack, she went and got comfy on her couch with the sounds of the people on the streets and the birds greeting her ears from her opened window.

Before too long, Akari was so into her book that she didn't notice someone coming in through her opened window and walking up behind her. "I prefer page 37," was whispered in her ear making Akari jump up, and turned around quickly only to get her feet tangled up in the rug. She started to fall over but was caught before she could hit the floor.

She peeked open her eyes, still holding her Icha Icha book close to her chest as she came face to face with a certain silver haired jounin who watched her quietly as her face turned several different shades of red. Akari moved away quickly and put some distance between them as she tried to calm her breathing down, "What are you doing in my home?"

He blinked then looked around only to stare at the bookshelf completely full of nothing but Icha Icha books. He then glanced back at Akari, "So you read them too." Her face grew redder as he took one off the shelf and looked at it then put it back, "I think you have something of mine."

She glanced down and noticed the kunai. "Here," she said tossing it back to him and sitting back down on the couch, "Now, I'd like it if you left the way you came in," she said not looking back but pointing her thumb to the open window. Once she was sure he was gone, she quickly flipped to page 37 and began reading it. She bit her bottom lip as she gasped, "Oh my god." Kakashi was leaning against his window and smiled as he pulled out his book and began reading it again when he heard someone knocking next door. He listened as the door was opened, "Jiraiya-san! What are you doing here?!" 

Jiraiya handed her a wrapped present, "Naruto told me you were here and it was your birthday so I brought you your present."

She opened it slowly and gasped almost dropping it, "But I thought you said it wouldn't be ready for two more months?!"

He chuckled as he knew Kakashi was listening, "When I found out you were back, I managed to finish it quicker."

Kakashi pouted as he listened and mumbled, "Why don't I ever get presents like that?"

"I know you're listening Kakashi," Jiraiya said at the open window, "You'll have to wait for yours."

Akari gapped as she walked over to the window to see Kakashi peek his head out to see the two leaning out to see him. She held up the book and grinned, sticking her tongue out in the process. "So how old are you now?" Jiraiya asked with a grin.

"25," she smiled but stopped at the look he was giving her and glared, "Not on your life you hentai!" she said kicking him out the window.

He landed on a nearby fence and pouted, "You've been around Tsunade for too long," but shrugged and followed a woman walking down the street.

She looked back over to see Kakashi looking intently at her book and grinned then opened it and began to read it as she walked back inside, chuckling as she did.

Akari sighed several hours later, closing the book, "That was the best one yet."

"Can I borrow it," came a reply from her window making her groan in annoyance.

She got up with a determined look on her face. After the first hour he had appeared at the window begging she would tell him 'no'. Now that was two and a half hours ago and she was about to kick him out the window as well. "No Kakashi-san, now please leave," she said as she began to put the book on the shelf but stopped as she came up with a better plan and began to take it with her into her room.

Kakashi could see down the hallway and watched as Akari came out of her room with some clothes and a towel and the book on top. "Why can't I read it?" he asked as he watched her from the window.

"Because," she began walking into a different room and the sound of water could be heard then she came back out with the book in her hands, "I want to read it again while I take a bath. Now for the last time, please leave."

Kakashi thought for a minute then quickly shook his head, "I'll wait right here."

This earned him an evil glare as she walked closer to him, "If you value your legs and arms, you _will_ leave now Kakashi-san." He stayed still for a little bit but when her eyes flashed and she moved closer to him, he jumped back over to his window. Akari shut it quickly then went back to the bathroom.

An hour or so later, and Akari sighed happily closing the book and got out of the tub, "It's much better when there are no interruptions." She grabbed the towel and dried off then dried her hair and went to grab her clean underwear and bra but couldn't find them. She looked at the door then mentally cursed herself for forgetting them and wrapped the towel tightly around her body, making sure the knot wouldn't come loose and listened for any sounds of anyone outside the door.

She knew she shouldn't be paranoid about this but with a neighbor like Kakashi, who was after an Icha Icha book, she wasn't taking any chances. Akari slowly opened the door and peeked her head outside to look around. When she was sure that no one was in the house with her, she carefully went into her room and grabbed the two articles of clothing she had forgotten and made her way back to the bathroom when a sound from the living room caught her attention.

She prayed that it wasn't who she thought it was but when a voice caught her attention she groaned and tried to hide the clothes and get back to the bathroom before being spotted.

"Can I borrow the book now?" came a voice from right behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

Akari gasped and turned around to see Kakashi a foot behind her. She jumped back but hit a slick spot on the floor and fell. He tried to catch her but they both landed on the floor with a loud thud.

She groaned and shook her head to clear her vision as she locked eyes with two mismatched eyes. They stared at eachother for a few minutes until a deep red spread across her face and tried to move but was pinned under Kakashi, "Get off of me."

He blinked and looked down as Akari did to see what he was looking at. As she fell the split in the towel had opened a little and her left leg was exposed all the way to her hip while the top of the towel slid down some to show some cleavage. They both looked back up and locked eyes again, this time they both had red faces. Akari tried to get Kakashi up but only managed to rub her leg in between his, getting a low groan in response. Her head shot up as she looked wide-eyed at the silver haired man on top of her. She didn't mean to do that. God, she just wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and hide.

After a little more fidgeting and accidentally doing it again, Akari got free and ran as fast as she could to the bathroom and slammed the door, leaving a stunned Kakashi staring down at the floor with shaking arms. The door opened and she came running back, skidding she grabbed her underwear, bra, and book then tried to haul it back to the bathroom but hit another slick spot and her feet came out from under her, making her land painfully on her side with a groan.

She tried to get up but a sudden pain ripped through her chest and she hissed slightly. Kakashi watched as she tried to get up again only to cry out in pain and fall back to the floor with another thud. He got up, "Are you alright?"

Akari looked over her shoulder with a glare, "Does it look like I'm alright?"

He shrugged, "It just looks like your laying there in the floor."

"Asshole," she mumbled and tried to get up again, finally managing to sit up. She held her ribs and breathed hard, "I think I broke a rib."

He raised an eyebrow, "Just from falling?"

"Here, let me help and see if it works for you," she hissed and tried to stand up but just trying to move made her rethink it and sit still.

"No thanks," he smiled and picked Akari up against her will.

"Put me down!" she screamed trying to get free but had to grit her teeth as her rib screamed in pain.

He took her to the bathroom and sat her on the toilet, "There. Now you can get dressed." He walked out and shut the door behind him, leaving Akari to blink as she stared at the door.

She carefully put her underwear and bra on and was in the process of putting her pants on when she lost her balance and landed on the floor with another thud. This time she screamed. The bathroom door was opened quickly and Kakashi took in what had happened, "You tripped didn't you?"

Akari glared, "Not. One. Word."

She then glanced down and realized she hadn't got her shirt on since it was going to be the most trouble, she was saving it for last. So Kakashi was greeted with an image of Akari lying there with her pants low on her hips, unzipped and black lacy underwear and matching bra, letting him see she was a full C. She groaned as she noticed the look on his face and kicked him in the leg, snapping him out of his trance, "Care to help me up?" He stood there for a minute then helped her stand back up so she could finish getting dressed. She carefully put her arms through the sleeves and tried to get the shirt over her head but couldn't and groaned not wanting to ask for his help again but not really having a choice.

Kakashi had tried not to laugh as he watched her but finally helped pull the shirt over her head so she wouldn't hurt herself anymore than she had already, "We need to let Tsunade check your ribs," and before she could protest, he had picked Akari up and appeared in front of Tsunade's door.

"Enter."

He opened the door to show Tsunade an image she hadn't quiet expected.

"What happened to you now Akari?" she asked as she came around her desk trying not to laugh as she was glared at by the injured girl.

"She tripped," Kakashi said as Tsunade began to examine Akari.

"Yeah I tripped, because he was trying to get my book that Jiraiya had brought me and scared me when I got out of the tu-" a hand clamped down over her mouth before she could say anymore. "Hmp!" she tried getting his hand off her mouth but he wouldn't budge.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at this, "Got out of what?"

Akari bit Kakashi's hand making him jerk it away and her growl up at him with her eyes glowing, "Do it again and I'll bite your fingers off." She looked back to Tsunade and began again, "As I was saying. He scared me when I getting out of the sh-"

The door burst open and Naruto came in panting, "I seen Kakashi-sensei carrying you and I wanted to know if you were okay."

Akari blinked then groaned as Kakashi spoke, "She tripped."

"For the last time I didn't trip dammit!' she tried getting out of his grip but he wouldn't let go. "He came into _my_ house, wanting to get _my_ book and scared me when I was getting out of the tub!" She panted heavily as her ribs ached from screaming.

Naruto and Tsunade turned and stared evilly at the silver haired man as he chuckled nervously, letting Akari stand on her own. Tsunade sighed and looked to Akari, "Well you have two broken ribs. It's going to take a few weeks to heal up. You'll have to have a bandage on the entire time Akari. No excuses."

Akari groaned when a sudden thought hit her, "Who will change the bandage?"

Tsunade thought for a minute. Naruto was grinning but quickly got smacked by both Tsunade and Akari. The blonde woman sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "As much as I hate to say it, Kakashi's the only one close enough to where you live to help you." Akari gapped as Kakashi's eye grew big.

"No way in hell!" Akari screamed as Tsunade glared.

"It's either him or Naruto," she said and that shut the complaining girl up quickly. Naruto was like a little brother to her sure. But when he got ideas in his head, she didn't want to be anywhere near him.

Akari hung her head in defeat as Tsunade ordered the two guys out and wrapped Akari's ribs tightly in a bandage. "I don't want him to help me Tsunade," she pouted as she held her shirt up.

The blonde woman sighed, "I know Akari, but I can't come help rewrap this every time it needs to be. Kakashi knows what to do and he won't do anything, or I'll make sure he gets hurt." Akari smiled some at that, then told the two to come back in. "Akari won't be able to train for a few weeks, so no missions for Team 7 until she's healed up enough to began training with you all again." Naruto pouted and Kakashi nodded as Akari just stood there wanting to go home. "You can leave, just remember what I said Akari," the blond woman smiled as the three left for Akari to go home and rest.

"Naruto, go tell Sakura and Sasuke that training's canceled until Akari's healed up," Kakashi said to the blonde, who nodded and ran off in one direction.

Akari began walking away, "Oh this day can't get any worse."


	6. Chapter 6

Just then a large white dog came running up and tackled Akari to the ground, making her scream in pain. Kakashi came walking over in front of the Hokage tower and watched as Akari tried to free herself from the large canine, "Why? Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Damn karma."

"Akamaru! Get back here," Kiba came running up in time to see his dog be kicked to the side quickly. "Hey!"

Akari glared at the dog then back to Kiba as she slowly got up with the help of Kakashi, "If you don't want him hurt then keep him away from me and teach him not to jump on injured people."

Kakashi sighed as he helped her right herself, "Sorry Kiba, she's got some broke ribs and Akamaru's not exactly light."

Kiba blinked then came walking over to the two and studied Akari carefully. He sniffed a little as she blanched and backed away, "Popping the personal bubble."

Akamaru came walking back up slowly as he watched Kiba and whined. Kiba looked at his dog then back to Akari and looked confused, "Why do you smell like a wolf?"

Akari tensed just slightly but enough for the three to notice it, "I ran into a pack of them on the way here." She began to walk away when more pain shot through her ribs but she tried to ignore it and continue walking home.

Kiba and Kakashi looked at eachother as the younger walked closer, "But we don't have wolves any where near here." Kakashi nodded as Akamaru barked a few times. Kiba looked at the retreating girl's back, "You don't think she could be like how Naruto is with the Kyuubi, do you?"

Kakashi studied her carefully, "I don't know. I'll talk with Tsunade about it. If you see her around town, just keep an eye on her. Be careful Kiba, she's an ANBU and will know if you get too close." The Inuzuka looked at his dog then looked back and both nodded at the same time.

Halfway home, she noticed Kakashi walking beside her. She sent him a sideways glance and glared, "You know this is all your fault right?" He pointed to himself innocently. She looked forward and sped up a little, "Yes, if you would've just waited until I could comfortably finish my book without interruptions, I would've let you borrow it." He looked over at her then down slightly as she gasped some but pushed through the pain. As they made it up to their apartments, she quickly walked inside and slammed her door, leaving the jounin to think by himself.

Akari sighed and carefully laid down on her bed, relaxing her aching muscles that seemed to welcome the relief. It was perfect, the light was off and a cool night breeze was coming through her window. Her ears picked up an inaudible howl and smiled as a feeling of comfort washed over her, numbing the pain and mumbled, "Oyasumi, Tama." She took a deep breath and relaxed her last stiff muscle and slowly drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

"Rise and shine!"

Akari cracked open an eye and groaned as she caught a glimpse of silver in her vision, "How in the hell did you get into my apartment? Go away baka, it's too early to deal with you."

Kakashi gave a hurt look, "That's not nice Akari."

She sat up with some trouble and glared, "I don't give a shit what's 'nice'. This is breaking and entering, so unless you want me to scream bloody murder then you'll leave. Now." She watched as he seemed to be considering his answer then grinned making her groan and lay back down, covering her face with her arm, "This has to be karma. What did I do to deserve this much torture?" She heard a chuckle and glared after she moved her arm, "I don't want to hear anything from you Kakashi. It's your fault I fell, it's your fault I have two broken ribs, it's your fault I can't go on any missions until I'm healed!" She gasped in pain as she stood up and glared at the silver haired jounin, "What are you doing here anyways?" His only response was holding up a roll of bandages making Akari groan and turn away from him, "I hate you. You know this right?"

She glared over her shoulder then took her shirt off carefully and undid the tie for the bandages Tsunade had put on the day before. Akari didn't want to see what perverted look may be on his face but when she heard no movement she covered herself carefully and looked back over her shoulder to see him with a serious look on his face as he studied the deep bruises on the side of her ribs along with her back littered in old scars. "Oi! Quit staring and hurry up. I don't exactly like the idea of standing in the same room with you in this situation," she snapped and looked forward again as she heard a chuckle.

"Hai, hai," he grinned and walked closer, reaching around the front of her and began to wrap the bandages tightly, earning a hiss from the girl in front of him. Akari watched his hands carefully as he reached back in front of her again to pass the bandage around. She noted that even though he could've been perverted about the whole scene, Kakashi actually acted like any normal jounin that was bandaging up their squad mate.

But everything went back to normal as soon as Akari had a clean shirt on.

"Why are you so red Akari-_chan_?" he grinned and pointed to her cheeks that had a slight tinge to them.

She slapped his hand away and glared, "I don't want to hear anything from you hentai. Now, please leave before I call Tsunade." He grinned as she tried to push him out of her room and out the front door, with little success. She groaned, "What do you want Kakashi?"

The silver haired jounin faked a hurt look and put his hand over his heart, "That hurt. I just wanted to check up on you. Is that such a bad thing?"

She snapped, "In my situation it is. Now go!" He planted his feet firmly and couldn't be moved any more, catching her wrist and held her still. She gave a quick panicked look then managed to get her arm free as she glanced over to the silver haired man with a strange look in her sunset eyes, "Please leave." She didn't wait for a reply as she slid on her shoes gently then left the apartment and Kakashi standing there confused.


	7. Chapter 7

Akari wandered around town until she found Naruto heading towards the training fields and smiled, "Naruto!" The blonde turned around and gave a small disapproving look as she held up her flute, "I'm not training baka. But I figured you might. Can I come along?"

He grinned and nodded, "Yeah, we have a lot to catch up on."

She nodded and huffed, "You have _no_ idea. After we left Tsunade yesterday, we ran into one of your friends. Kiba, I think he said his name was. Actually, it was his dog that ran into me, and decided I made a comfortable bed and tackled me to the ground on my broken ribs."

"Ouch," he checked her over as she grinned, "Are you feeling any better Akari?" They were almost inside the training grounds as he walked further ahead. He almost missed what she whispered but froze completely and took in her broken appearance, "What did you say?"

She gripped her wood flute tightly and looked up with solemn eyes, "He asked why I smelt like a wolf. I told them that I ran into a pack of them on the way here but I know that neither he and his dog, nor Kakashi bought it."

The blonde walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder gently, "Have they said anything else?"

She shook her head, "No, but I have a feeling that at least one of them is going to be following me around for a while." She locked eyes with him and smiled softly, "Tama missed you. She missed Tsunade too for some odd reason."

He grinned as one of her eyes shifted to an ice blue, "Hey Tama."

The woman smiled, "Hello Kit. Has that fox been staying in line and playing nice?"

Naruto snickered, "Yeah, we finally came to an agreement a while back."

She nodded, "Good. Since Akari's going to be staying here for the rest of her life, we will have many times to catch up." He grinned happily up at her then stared as her blue eye flared brightly then dimmed back to its natural colour. She quickly brought him into a gentle hug and whispered, "Someone's in the trees just out of my sensory range. Can you tell if they're friend or not?"

He stiffened slightly then relaxed as he tried to figure out who it could be then sighed and laid his head on her shoulder and groaned, "It's everyone. Guess Kiba couldn't keep his mouth shut." He felt her stiffen and hugged her a little tighter, "Just stay calm. Hey Akari?"

She let the hug go and looked down into his sky blue eyes, "Yeah?"

He turned away from the group and whispered, "How come Tama hasn't healed your ribs?"

She laughed softly, "She believes that it's my life and that whatever happens was meant to and wants me to be able to handle anything that may naturally come." She paused as her eyebrows drew together, "But me breaking my ribs isn't normal Tama." Naruto quickly pulled her into another hug so she could mumble into his shoulder without anyone being able to read her lips, "Please Tama. Heal me Okaa-san." Naruto smiled as he felt Akari twitch slightly. Kyuubi seemed to purr happily from his cage, glad to have someone around again with a level head and even though he wouldn't admit it, the time Naruto had spent training with Akari had them both attached to the girl along with her counterpart.

After a minute, the blonde let go and smiled as the girl poked her ribs just lightly and grinned at him, then sighed when she heard someone snap a twig further away. Naruto could sometimes hear Tama if they were close enough and if Kyuubi was being nice enough to transmit any message. A howl resounded around them and shook the two slightly. Naruto looked over and noticed Akari's sunset eyes glaring at the tree line, watching for any movement. He sighed, if they kept treating her like this then she was never going to trust anyone other than him and Tsunade. "Come out and down here you guys! Your hiding sucks!"

Suddenly, three groups of three along with Sasuke and Sakura jumped out and stood near them. Akari stiffened slightly, taking in everyone and mentally strategizing with Tama. Kyuubi warned Naruto and let him hear their thoughts, planning to take the strongest first and making a break for it. "What are you guys doing anyways?"

"Kiba told us that she might have a demon in her," Ino said as she studied the woman beside Naruto quietly.

Naruto shot Kiba a glance as Akari glared hard at said boy and his dog, who whined and shrunk back behind his master. "Akari," the blonde mumbled under his breath, "calm down."

She sighed and tried but couldn't relax, "I can't. There's too many of them and Tama doesn't trust them. She smells their anxiety and fear." Naruto looked down with sad eyes. It was almost like how Gaara was with his village before he became Kazekage. "Naruto," she mumbled, "if more than three of them get within ten feet, I won't be able to control myself."

He nodded and looked back at everyone, "So what if she has a demon in her? I do."

Some looked down ashamed while Neji took a step closer, "You can control him now. She needs to be brought to Tsunade-sama so she can be dealt with Naruto."

Akari let a small growl slip past her lips as the others watched her muscles twitch. "Obaa-chan knows already. She's known Akari since she was little! Quit treating her like the enemy already. You're acting just like Suna did with Gaara!"

That seemed to snap most of them out of their thoughts and look down ashamed. Akari sighed some, only to stiffen as Neji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Lee, and Kiba walked closer. "Sorry Naruto, but we still need to take her to Hokage-sama to make sure," Shikamaru said as they walked closer.

Akamaru whined loudly and Kiba stopped dead in his tracks and paled, "STOP!" The rest stopped just outside of the ten-foot mark, making Naruto and Akari sigh. Kyuubi was mentally talking to Tama to reason with her but she was only thinking about the well being of Akari, and doing whatever it took to keep her safe. "Akamaru, what do you mean we have to stay here?" Kiba asked as the white dog sat infront of them and blocked their path. "We have to take her to Tsunade-sama."


	8. Chapter 8

While they were all listening to Kiba narrate his talk with his dog, Akari whispered softly, "Send a clone for Tsunade. Now!" He quickly made one appear in the forest and run like hell for the Hokage tower.

Tsunade looked up as her door slammed open, stopping the beginning of her conversation with the jounin, "Naruto! What are you doing barging in here?" She watched and blinked, "Why did you send a clone?"

The clone panted, "Kiba couldn't keep his nose out of Akari's business! Everyone's at the training grounds."

She tensed some, "What's happening?"

"They want to bring her here but she doesn't trust them!" he panted and grabbed her wrist.

"As interesting as this is, what does this all mean?" Gai asked to the clone.

He ignored him and shouted with wide eyes at the blonde woman, "Tama's about to show up!" Tsunade jumped up as the clone disappeared and quickly left her office, followed by the group of jounin.

Naruto pulled Akari back as he glared, "Guys, for the last time, listen to Akamaru and stay back!"

Kiba listened but the others didn't as they tried to get closer making the two stiffen. Kiba looked down to his dog, "Are you positive she's not crazy like the others?" The white dog nodded and barked quickly as his master looked back at the scene and mumbled, "So she's just protecting Akari, huh?" His only response was a small whimper.

Naruto grabbed Akari's wrist and pulled her back further, "Don't get any closer!"

"Why not?" Lee asked as they walked closer.

The blonde tried to move his friend back more when he realized she couldn't and noticed the shadow holding her still. Shikamaru stood up and began to walk towards Akari, making her walk towards them with panicked eyes, "Naruto! Stop them!"

He tried but just as they were about to reach the limit they heard a loud smash and turned to see Tsunade standing there with the jounin and glaring at everyone, "What exactly are you doing with Akari, Shikamaru?"

"Kiba said there's a demon in her, we were going to bring her to you for your decision," he said as he took a step closer.

"I would stop if I were you," Tsunade ordered. "I know exactly who she is and what is in her. It is not one of the tailed beasts but more of a 'guardian' you could say," she tried to explain then hardened her eyes on everyone, "And it is none of your business."

"Why is everyone trying to keep a ten foot distance between her and us?" Sasuke asked as they glanced back to the girl, who was being held back by Naruto. Her once sunset orange eyes changed into icy blue as her canine teeth became sharper.

Tsunade looked on sadly, "She doesn't trust anyone besides me, Naruto, and Jiraiya. If any of you got any closer to her, she would change to protect herself and harm anyone that would pose a threat, even if she's not meaning too."

"Then she needs to be dealt with before she does kill anyone," Neji stated calmly.

Naruto glared at the Hyuuga, "She smells your fear you baka! How would you act if you were in a new place and everyone decided they were going to gang up on you because you had something extra in you?"

"Kyuubi," Akari said as she tried to stay calm, "We're both trying to calm Tama but she's scared for me." Her eyes grew wide and gasped as she clutched onto Naruto's arm tightly, "Get them back! She keeps saying she has to protect me. She's forcing control for once! Get them back now!"

Tsunade understood that order and looked over at the jounin, "Get your teams back over here now!"

They nodded and quickly rounded everyone up with Naruto still staying beside the girl, who whimpered, "Naruto, please go where it's safe."

He shook his head and grinned, "Not a chance. Besides, Tama said she'd never hurt me."

Akari took one last look into his eyes and nodded before a cool feeling flowed through her and she let go of his arms. The blonde stepped back as a swirl of chakra blocked everyone's view until a low growling could be heard making everyone tense slightly, except for Naruto, Tsunade, Kiba, and Akamaru.

A large silver wolf stood where Akari had been. As the sun hit her fur, shades of blue could be seen. She was much larger than Akamaru. She was hunched forward and growling at the large group of people until she noticed Tsunade and relaxed some as the blonde woman walked closer, "Hello Tama, it's been a while."

Tama sat and lifted her head gracefully with what looked like a smile, "It has Tsunade-chan. Have you been the one to take care of Kit over here?" she asked and motioned to Naruto.

The others blinked as Kiba looked at Akamaru, "Did you know she could talk?" He shook his head as they looked back at the large wolf.

Naruto puffed up his checks, "Oi! I'm standing right here. Don't talk like I'm not!"

Tsunade and Tama grinned as the wolf got up and walked gracefully over to the blonde and sniffed him lightly then nuzzled the side of his head. He grinned and hugged her neck, having to stand on tiptoes to reach around.

Tama laid down as Naruto ran his fingers through her fur and looked up at Tsunade, "Even though the one named Kiba brought the rest, he listened to his dog and didn't come any closer. So I do not blame him for this happening," Tsunade nodded as Tama continued, "I do, however, blame those arrogant four boys for ignoring the warning of not only Akari, but their two friends Naruto and Kiba."

Tsunade nodded, "I understand. You must know though, that we are all a little edgy after dealing with Kyuubi, Shukaku, Orochimaru, and the Akatsuki."

Tama nodded then lifted her head when they heard Kiba shout, "Get back here Akamaru!"

That's when they noticed the white dog walking cautiously towards them with his tail down between his legs. Tama listened to him and nodded, "I know you warned them pup, but stubbornness is not something that is easily broken." He barked and whined some more until she nodded, "I agree, but I just want to make sure that Akari lives a long, happy life. I've been with her since her birth and have only taken full control like this five times now. I don't like interfering with her life and how things are suppose to turn out, it's only when things don't go right that I help in some way."

Naruto smiled and ran his fingers through her fur some more, "I bet Gaara would freak out if he could see this."

Tsunade nodded with a small grin, "Tama." She looked over at the blonde woman with soft eyes, "I trust all of these people with my life, as does Naruto. Will you be able to trust them?"


	9. Chapter 9

Tama looked at everyone carefully, "All of the girls, yes." Her eyes narrowed on the guilty party, "As long as the one that stopped me doesn't do that again, I can trust him as well as the ones wearing green and black. But that last one, the one who wanted Akari 'dealt with', I doubt I will ever trust him," there was a soft growl at the end of her sentence.

Tsunade sighed and accepted the answer, "Would they be able to come closer?"

The wolf looked at Akamaru, then to Naruto who was grinning, then back to the blonde woman, "Yes. Not everyone at once. A group can come closer, once I think they're safe, they can stay."

Tsunade nodded, "Shikamaru, come over here with Ino and Chouji."

The three nodded and walked over slowly. Tama watched them carefully with her head still held high. When they were a couple of meters away and sniffed the air slightly then seemed to relax. "Sorry for earlier," Shikamaru apologized.

Tama nodded, "I understand. Just please don't do that again. I think it scared Akari more then it did me."

He muttered another apology as they walked over to Naruto's side, where he was still seated and petting her fur happily as he watched everything.

"Gai, bring them over slowly."

Tama watched as the two green clad men walked calmly up to her with the girl lagging behind and the one she didn't like leading up the rear. "I'm Lee," the younger of the two wearing green spoke, "This is TenTen and the other is Neji. I'm sorry for his behaviour earlier as well as mine."

He bowed, making Tama lift an eyebrow and look at Naruto, who just shook his head, then looked back. She watched to see if the other would say anything but when he didn't she gave a soft growl. Akamaru barked making Kiba sigh and yell out, "Neji has to stay the furthest away until she trusts him!"

Tsunade sighed but nodded then called for the last team, "Kurenai, bring Kiba, Hinata, and Shino now."

They walked up and waited until Tama laid her head down and watched the four. Hinata looked on with big eyes, "I didn't realize exactly how big you were."

Tama smiled and looked around, "Where did the pink and black one go?"

"They're over here," came a voice to the groups' left.

The wolf lifted her head then sighed, crossed her paws, and laid her head down on them and looked away. Naruto and Tsunade laughed as the wolf completely ignored Kakashi. Naruto grinned, "It looks like neither one of them forgive you for her ribs Kakashi-sensei."

The silver haired man hung his head as the wolf noticed a par of feet in front of her face and lifted her head to see Kiba. "Akamaru, come stand over here so we can see your side." When the dog whined, Kiba shook his head, "I just wanna get an idea to how big she is like Hinata said."

The dog whined again but complied and stood still. Naruto stood up, "Kiba, go stand with the group. I'll help." Kiba nodded and walked over to where Hinata and Shino were and watched as Naruto stood behind Akamaru. "Come on Tama. You know you wanna show off."

The wolf huffed but chuckled and stood up, gracefully making her way over to Naruto and walked behind him and stood like Akamaru was. The others gapped as the size was apparent then. While you could see most of Naruto's upper body behind Akamaru, only his head could be seen clearing Tama's back.

The blonde blinked when he noticed horrified looks cross everyone's face and felt hot breath on the back of his head. He slowly turned around to see Tama standing there with her mouth open and inching closer to his head. He sweat dropped, "What are you doing Tama?"

Her reply was to lick his whole face in one go, making him gag and try to wipe his face clean while the others relaxed and laughed as she growled at him softly. She ran past him, swatting him with her tail and pounced around as she dodged Naruto's attacks and grabs until she stopped and seemed to pout. She glanced over to the blonde, "Akari wants back now. Even though she's safe, she doesn't like the feeling of not being in control of her body. Remember what happens next Kit?"

Naruto nodded as a swirl of chakra surrounded the wolf. Then was replaced by Akari, staring with her large sunset eyes only to roll back and collapse. He caught her quickly and carried her bridal style as he walked up to the group and let Tsunade check her, "She should be fine. Tama healed her ribs."

Tsunade nodded then grinned, "Well, at least we got the hardest part out of the way now." The blonde nodded in agreement as he shifted the girl in his arms into a more comfortable position.

"So what happens now?" Sakura asked as everyone walked closer to the two blondes.

Tsunade looked at Kakashi and smiled widely, "Since Akari's healed now, starting tomorrow, she will start training with your team Kakashi. She's been working alone since she was a gennin."

The others stared confused as TenTen spoke up, "What about her team she was on?"

"What team?" Tsunade looked over, "Where she lived, not every child was trained to be a shinobi and those that were, had to go through strenuous training and trials that you all didn't have to do until you were all out of school. That's why most of their shinobi were ranked ANBU by the age of 14."

Lee looked on amazed, "So she was an ANBU when she was 14?"

The Hokage shook her head, "No Lee, she was 12. Before her village was slaughtered, Akari was the highest ranking and strongest there, just below their village leader and none of this was with Tama's help. Tama was and is still a very firm believer in learning from experience and Akari has scars and old broken bones to prove it."

Neji crossed his arms, "If she is so strong, then why does she need to train with anyone?"

Naruto glared at the Hyuuga and began to say something when he felt a rumble come from the girl in his arms. A few of the others looked over to see a pair of icy blue eyes glaring at him, "She's done over six hundred missions. Except for the first few the rest were all S-ranked missions. Think for a minute, if they were forced to be alone then do you think she had any help with them?" She gave a look to Naruto and Tsunade then closed her eyes again and passed back out.

"Like I said," the blonde woman continued, "She's always worked alone. Since she's going to be living here from now on, she needs to learn how to work in a team. That's why she's going to be training with Kakashi and his team."

The others nodded after a few minutes as Naruto readjusted Akari again. He glanced over to see that everyone had a thoughtful look on their faces and shook his head, "The only time she ever trained with anyone was when she ran into me and ero-sannin. And that took at least five months to get her to even think about it." He snickered, "Ero-sannin knew where she was from and decided that it would be good to learn from her but for half a year, the only thing I learned was that she could knock him out with a single punch."

Tsunade sighed and shook her head then looked at everyone, "You will treat her like everyone else in Konoha. Just because she has Tama doesn't mean anything will be any different. Kakashi," said silver haired man looked up confused, "Take Akari home so she can rest and let her know what the plan is. As for the rest of you, go home."

With that she turned and left, several of the others taking her lead and going home. Kakashi walked over to Naruto with Sakura and Sasuke close behind. He carefully took Akari away from the blonde as Sakura looked on sadly as they noticed some of the scars on her neck and stomach, "I can't imagine how hard it must have been to be trained like that."

Naruto nodded, "I couldn't handle not having someone else to rely on. She's like my big sister now and I want her to be happy."

Sasuke watched the sleeping girl quietly, "Why were they forced to train like that? Didn't they know it was better to have more shinobi with fewer casualties?"

Naruto looked over to the raven as he stretched his cramped arms, "Teme, within the seventeen years that she's started training, she told me that they never lost one person. She said that the only reason she doesn't have more missions completed is because all the ones she went on lasted anywhere from a couple of weeks to half a year and the village had a strict rule if they came back from a mission that lasted more than three months, they had to take a month break to keep mentally sane."

He sighed as his eyes landed on the sleeping girl, "How do you think she managed to kill the rest of the Akatsuki when they attacked her village? Training and strength wise, she outnumbered them all together. That's why she was one of the elite ANBU and in charge of almost everything."

The rest looked over at the girl to see her groan slightly and mumbled sarcastically, "Thank you for narrating my life Baka." She cracked open an eye and watched as Naruto laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. That's when she noticed that he wasn't holding her like she thought he was, then looked up and noticed the silver haired man holding her and paused, then tried to get free until she quickly disappeared in a blue mist then showed up in between the blonde and raven haired boys. She looked around for a minute and took in everyone's expressions, "So what's the plan now?"

Kakashi smiled, at least Akari guessed he did from his closed eye, "Tsunade wants you to start training with us tomorrow."

She nodded her head thoughtfully, then looked up with confused eyes, "But what about after that?" They shrugged making her sigh and hang her head with her arms crossed, "This is going to take forever."

* * *

**Well, let me know what you guys think.**

**I may write more for this if you guys can give me some good ideas!**


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